Baseball

Well, the first day of the MLB playoffs kicked off yesterday, and were nothing short of disappointing.

First things first — looks like Philly fans have a little luck on their side, as the Phillies held off the Brewers 3-1. They did this behind a dominating performance from their starting pitcher, Cole Hamels. He went 8 strong innings, and an amazing 9 strikeouts. Hamels was so good, that the Brewers were relieved when the Phillies star closer, Brad Lidge came in. ‘Phew — a break’, the Brewers thought, but the Brewers didn’t have enough, giving the Phillies (and the Philadelphia sports fans) a much needed win.

Up next, it was the Cubs v. the Dodgers. Is this the year for the Cubs? Is it finally time for Cubs fans to forgive Steve Bartman (the guy who interfered with their ’03 World Series run). Well, the game got off to a good start for the Cubbies, as Mark DeRosa smashed a home-run to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. And yeah, the fans went crazy. But the new-look Dodgers are incredible this year, especially with the addition of former Yankees coach, Joe Torre, and former Red Sox slugger, Manny Ramirez. Ramirez even had a home-run in the game, and Dodgers overpowered the Cubs 7-2. So, basically, if the Cubs want this to be ‘their year’, they better try harder, because the Dodgers aren’t playing dead for them.

The Chicago White Sox, who won a one game playoff with the Minnesota Twins to advance to the ‘real’ playoffs, will take on the underdog story of the season: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Rays have their eye on the prize, but don’t think Chicago fans wouldn’t love a White Sox/Cubs world series showdown — with White Sox fans thinking ‘Hey Cubs fans, you want a World Series… well you’re gonna have to go through the better Chicago team to get it. Ha ha ha!!’.